The President of the Letterkenny Chamber has called on the people of Donegal to think of local businesses and jobs over the next ‘crucial’ 10 days.
“For the many out there, hold firm, and for the few, you need to redouble your efforts,” said Micheal Margey in a plea for local businesses.
As Ireland prepares to reopen the economy on 10th May, localised restrictions are not being ruled out in relation to persistently high cases in Donegal.
Margey said that businesses are doing a “superb job at every step”.
“When we look at the inspection rates at our workplaces, we’re recording excellent compliance rates, as good as anywhere else in the country,” he said.
“To our publics and our customers across Donegal, the vast majority are doing a brilliant job. We are well below the national average in many places.”
Margey has called on the small minority of those who are not following guidelines to consider the impact of another lockdown on local businesses.
“Moving forward into the next 10 days is going to be critical and we need to look at behaviours,” he said.
“For the many out there, hold firm, and for the few, you need to redouble our efforts.
“Make sure you wash your hands, wear a mask, make sure you cut down your contacts and avoid large gatherings of people.
“Now, think about the numbers, we hear of 30 a day positive cases in Donegal, sometimes it’s higher.
“Think about this, we have 60,000 people employed in Donegal, 15,000 of them are on the PUP and many others are unemployed because of this pandemic. We’ve 10,000 businesses, thousands of them are closed across non-essential retail, and in terms of tourism and hospitality and other sectors.
“We can’t hold on for another week, another month or longer being closed down.”
Margey added that Donegal is in need of extra government support to deal with the pockets of resurgence that have driven up case numbers.
“I want people to look forward to one of the best summers we can have. It’s been a really difficult lockdown since before Christmas and it’s really hard. Be proud of your county Donegal, It’s a great place to live and work in.”